Now THIS is a program that should generate some Excitement !! Most folks don't follow what is a very successful UMaine program and a really great spectator sport !! I didn't, until I watched a game and then got hooked !!

... Abbott is the daughter of former UMaine athletic director and Orono native Steve Abbott and the granddaughter of former Black Bears head football coach and interim AD Walter Abbott. She earned all-state honors last fall and was selected to the Southwestern Maine Activities Association first team.

Abbott said she grew up cheering for UMaine so playing for the Black Bears will be, “a dream come true.

“I am excited to represent the state that I love, get an incredible education and play on a top-tier Division I field hockey team,” she said in a news release. “Coach Babineau was the one who first introduced me to field hockey so I am especially pleased to have the chance to play for her.”

SUPER News !!This is a UMAINE Sports Program that has really "overachieved" !! This is a great get of a super scholar-athlete who had lots of opportunities.A Great Sport to watch, and UMaine is looking to continue improvement !!!

... Albany has won four AE titles in the last seven years and in 2014 became the first conference team to reach the NCAA Final Four.

“I saw the [Albany] program go from 75th in the country to the Final Four. This is going to be a good fit for me. This will help me progress my career and develop as a coach,” Simpson said from Nashville, where she is preparing for Saturday’s St. Jude Rock ’n’ Roll Nashville Marathon.

She is looking forward to working with UMaine head coach Josette Babineau and coaching in a state that has so much pride and interest in its state university’s athletic programs.

PORTLAND, MAINE (WABI)- The national signing period for athletic scholarships continues. At Cheverus, field hockey standout Hannah Abbott, who scored 43 career goals, signed her NLI to play at UMaine. It’s kind of like the family business.

Both her father Steve, and grandfather Walt were Athletic Directors at Maine. Her grandfather was also a long time head football coach of the Black Bears. He still lives in Orono and might have been the happiest of all that she's going to be a Black Bear.